Black Friday, Island-Style; Bringing back Scallops

Martha's Vineyard Headlines, November 23, 2007Edgartown Great Pond Perilously Near Nitrogen Limits, Estuaries Study FindsIf the Edgartown Great Pond is to be restored to environmental health, town authorities must find a way to cut nitrogen pollution coming from household septic systems by at least 30 per cent, according to a comprehensive scientific study of the pond’s water quality...Drawbridge Replacement is a Complicated AffairBy the time the new permanent Lagoon Pond drawbridge is finished in Vineyard Haven sometime in the next decade, it will be one of the most expensive projects in Vineyard history with a total price tag well north of $30 million. It will also likely go down as the longest gestating project in Island history; the drawbridge plan has been stuck on open for nearly 20 years now...Other Island NewsResearchers Find Blue Mussels Flourish in Island ExperimentCounty Manager Still Undecided Shotgun Season for Deer Begins Monday; Runs for Two WeeksLifetime Travel Perks for Governors Are Cause for Discussion at BoatlineBlack Friday, Island-StyleThe busiest retail day in America, a paean to consumerism with images of the Capital One Huns and Visigoths gathering in predawn siege before retail palaces promising super sales and blowout bonanzas...Red Stocking Fund for ChildrenSeventy years ago Addie Crist and Irene Flanders sat together to sew six red cloth stockings. They filled them mostly with necessaries but also with a ray of Christmas delight for six needy Island kids...“I’m not surprised . . . the election was a case of the direction the tribe wanted to go and I support that.” -Donald S. Widdiss, who lost his seat in a 99-48 voteWampanoag Tribe Ousts Its Chairman; Cheryl Andrews-Maltais Takes HelmCheryl Andrews-Maltais’s landslide victory as chairman of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) last Sunday stunned some tribal members, and while the chairman-elect was surprised by her margin of victory, her opponent said he was not... Mr. Widdiss has been tribal chairman since 2004. “I was dedicated to change and pushed for change my whole term. I was sensing that people were unwilling to change. It is hard to pursue your agenda when people don’t want to take responsibility,” he said. “I was cautiously optimistic based on the response I was getting from people but I did not expect the plurality,” Ms. Andrews-Maltais said. A total of 159 tribal members voted in the election, a low turnout by recent tribal chairman election standards. William Durwood Vanderhoop received one write-in vote and eleven ballots were left blank... With Science, Future Is Hopeful For Bringing Back Bay ScallopsIf the bay scallop fishery can be restored to places like Cape Cod and Long Island, the Vineyard may be able to take credit for it...Geraldine Brooks Creates Fiction From the FactsGeraldine Brooks has never written an entirely fictional book. She does not even think she could. She spent too many of her writing years, she says, “in service of the facts,’ practicing journalism...Read The Gazette. __________

Nantucket Headlines, November 23, 2007

Hoarding becomes a health, safety issue It is known as hoarding - stacks of newspapers, magazines, bags of clothing and unpacked groceries that create corridors inside the home; yards cluttered with old toys, boxes, crates, rotting vehicles and decrepit boats, salvaged building materials, tires, bottles and cans, animals or myriad other items. Considered a "deep-seated psychological problem," hoarding has become such an obsession for some people on Nantucket that they literally cannot live without all of their "stuff." Of the three hoarding interventions that Nantucket Health Inspector Richard Ray and his department have performed recently - for the sake of the health and safety of the individuals involved - all three hoarders, upon returning to their homes, died. Over 200 expected to take plungeWith showers in the forecast and air temperatures expected to be in the low 50s, Thanksgiving morning looks to be as mild as can be expected. For the anticipated 200-plus people ready to take Thursday morning's sixth annual Turkey Plunge, however, water temperature is thmost crucial factor. Harbor temperatures hovered in the low-to-mid-40s on Monday morning. Should it rain, it would be typical as the weather has been iffy at best ever since the first daring people dove into the water at Children's Beach six years ago. New Blooms for HopeNantucket New School students plant daffodil bulbs along the Milestone Road Saturday to help replenish those originally planted by Jean MacAusland in 1974.Scallopers opt not to take Fridays offGiven four days to mull it over, Nantucket's scalloping fleet opted not to push for a four-day work week in an attempt to raise the current wholesale price of $9 a pound.Read the Nantucket Independent.

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